Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Friday’s Headlines: Astoria Borealis Edition

SB Donation NYC header 2

Yes, everyone was freaked out about that weird blue light that turned Astoria into the set for "E.T. 2: The Return" (or not), but within a few minutes, we learned that it was just a small explosion that was not, in fact, set by Queens Community Board 2 to protest the Hoyt Avenue bike lane.

Meanwhile, here's two more reminders: Have a great weekend and click on that yellow box above to make a tax-deductible donation to keep the lights on at Streetsblog for another year.

Here's the (non-explosion) news:

    • It's pretty sick when the city has to hire crossing guards — er, pedestrian safety managers — so grown-ups can get safely across car-choked streets. Unfortunately, the Times story reads like a light feature about a minor inconvenience rather than a stinging indictment of a mayor (Bill de Blasio) who won't solve the problem (cars). It's time to hold the mayor accountable for allowing suburbanites and New Jerseyans to terrorize city pedestrians. The story did not even mention congestion pricing.
    • The Wall Street Journal's Paul Berger has crunched the numbers to report what the NYPD and City Hall has been saying for weeks: Traffic deaths are going to hit record lows this year. (WSJ)
    • You really can't beat this Gothamist headline, "MTA Admits That 'Good Service' Depends On Your Definition Of 'Good.'"
    • Look at how beautiful New York is before the cars all mess it up every day. (Gothamist)
    • Is it us, or did the Times publish an op-ed that basically capitulated to the Yellow Vests?
    • So, a Bronx assemblyman implicated in a racially charged school segregation scandal admitted that he has never hired a black staffer during 25-year career (NYDN), which prompted the tweet of the day from Charlie Komanoff about the Assembly Member, Jeffrey Dinowitz.
    • The Straphangers Campaign gives us its annual "year-in-review" of a lousy 2018. (NY Post)
    • And, finally, need any more evidence that some drivers are real jerks? (Ottawa Citizen)
    • Oh, and one more thing. We also liked this tweet from Joe Nickol:
    • And Justin Brannan brought this one to our attention:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Tisch Comes Clean Edition

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch finally commented on her department's crackdown on cyclists. Plus more news.

May 15, 2025

Tisch Rap: NYPD Criminal E-bike Summonses Surge 4,000 Percent

The NYPD wrote twice as many criminal court summonses to e-bike riders in two weeks than it wrote all of last year — an astronomical increase that is a remnant of a repudiated racially biased police practice.

May 15, 2025

Quiet Desperation: NYPD’s Tisch Didn’t Tell DOT About Her Crackdown on Cycling

The NYPD commissioner did not inform her counterpart at the Department of Transportation that police would begin issuing criminal summonses to cyclists.

May 15, 2025

Not the Same Ol’ MTA: Cost of Upgrading Subway Signals is Cut in Half

A new design-build strategy, plus removing old signals fully, is credited for cutting costs in half. Take that, Sean Duffy.

May 15, 2025

Lander, Labor Activists Slam Cuomo After ‘Goliath’ DoorDash Gives $1M

The donation from the the app company is seen as a way of influencing a possible future mayor to side with the tech giant.

May 14, 2025
See all posts